Union Berlin missed the leap to the top of the Bundesliga table after a goalless draw against Schalke 04 on matchday 21.
Berlin – Sadness in the old forester’s house: Union Berlin is against bottom of the table Schalke 04 didn’t get past a meager 0-0 and got it after the blunder of the FC Bayern failed to conquer the top of the table again. The guests from the Ruhr area made it 0-0 in a row for the fourth time Bundesliga record on.
Aïssa Laïdouni (left) was the best man for Union Berlin in the first half and kept trying to drive the game forward in midfield. © RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
Everything was actually done: The Munich team had opened the door to the top on Saturday evening with the 2:3 defeat against Borussia Mönchengladbach. But the people from Köpenick missed going through the sold-out Alte Försterei. They are now level on points with the record champions, but the goal difference clearly speaks for FCB.
The guests from Gelsenkirchen naturally resorted to defending their own box in the relegation battle and did their ex-coach Huub Stevens credit, because at the end of the game it was zero for the fourth time – but also on the offensive, so that the miners at the bottom of the table hardly had any were able to gain ground.
In the home game, one of the few weaknesses was revealed once again: The Fischer squad still doesn’t know what to do with the ball as much as they do against the ball and since the Royal Blues were very deep, the capital club couldn’t play their usual strong switching game bring to bear.
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That may also have been due to the fact that Union coach Urs Fischer was rotated five times and gave regulars like Diogo Leite or Sheraldo Becker a breather. Striker Jordan also found himself on the substitutes’ bench early in the game, but that didn’t seem to bother the American at all as he happily sang along to the club’s anthem.
The “second suit” of the hosts had difficulties to evade the man-orientation of the miners, who pursued their direct opponents practically all over the place. In the initial phase, the Fischer squad repeatedly caused danger with sharp flanks on the flanks, but the right customer just didn’t want to be found.
The duel-focused game resulted in many interruptions. © RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
Union Berlin missed a win against Schalke 04 despite the substitution of regular players
Even Union’s top scorer Sheraldo Becker (left) was no longer able to ensure victory after being substituted on. © RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
As a result, a game with few chances developed with many interruptions. Only after 23 turns of the pointer did Union central defender Danilho Doekhi have the first real chance to score – of course after a standard situation – but guest keeper Ralf Fährmann scratched the left-footed shot from the left corner. It should remain the only real highlight of the first half. There was no danger from the royal blues.
Fischer’s half-time speech didn’t seem to have worked either, because after the break the picture was initially unchanged.
With the substitution of regular striker Sheraldo Becker after 58 minutes, Fischer gave a sign for more offensive from the outside. A little later, Jordan, the regular center forward, was also used.
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The fans also felt that the team was jolted by the changes and frantically whipped the Reds forward.
However, the hosts did not allow themselves to be carried away to an unconditional offensive in order to conquer the top of the table with all their might and ultimately run the risk of losing the game through a Schalke counterattack.
Nevertheless, the capital club was always looking for a way forward and caused unrest in the opposing penalty area. But this time a goal should not come from the very last corner in added time.
Statistics for the Bundesliga match between Union Berlin and Schalke 04
21st matchday
1. FC Union Berlin – FC Schalke 04 0:0
Line-up 1. FC Union Berlin: Rönnow – Doekhi, Knoche, Baumgartl – Trimmel, Khedira, Gießelmann (81. Roussillon) – Laidouni (66. Seguin), Haberer (81. Thorsby) – K. Behrens (65. Siebatcheu), S. Michel (58. S. Becker)
Formation FC Schalke 04: Ferryman – Brunner (90.+1 Aydin), Yoshida, Jenz, Uronen (36. Ouwejan) – Kral, Krauß – Drexler, Zalazar Martinez (79. Terodde), Bülter – Frey (79. Karaman)
Referee: Tobias Reichel (Stuttgart)
Viewers: 22.012 (sold out)
Yellow cards: K. Behrens (2), Gießelmann (4) / Jenz (2)
Best Players: Knoche, Haberer / Kral, Bülter
